This chapter is Daphne's story, from right after Maddie's emancipation up to about a year after Maddie returns to Nashville. Hope you like it!

Daphne

Daphne was quiet during dinner. So was everyone else at the table. She could feel their eyes on her and when she'd look up, they'd look away. She could feel their compassion but it didn't help. She felt anxious and scared and all alone. She really wished she knew what was going on. She knew enough – that Maddie had asked to be emancipated and that her mom and Deacon had been in court over it. She hadn't been completely sure what that meant, so she'd looked it up. You are mature enough to manage your own affairs. You can support yourself financially. Your welfare is better served by not being with your parents. There are no other reasonable solutions. It had been confusing. Maddie was certainly not very mature. She'd run off, she'd lied about stuff, she made bad decisions. And she didn't understand how Maddie thought she'd be better off. They had a great mom and Deacon was really cool. She just thought Maddie wasn't getting her way and that her new friend Cash was behind it all.

"Daphne?" Daphne looked up. "Sweetie, do you want us to try your mom again?" Jennifer's mother was looking at her sadly. Daphne wasn't sure if she felt bad for her or if she was getting a little annoyed at her mom for not coming to get her.

Daphne dropped her fork on her plate and got up out of her chair. She shook her head. "I'll try her." She hurried off to the hallway, where her book bag was and found her phone. She wandered into the library and pulled up her mother's number. It went straight to voice mail. "Mom?" she practically whispered. "Where are you? What's going on? I'm still at Jennifer's." She swallowed. "Please come get me." She really wanted to cry. She was starting to feel scared.


Daphne was trying to focus on her history homework, in Jennifer's room, when she heard hurried footsteps coming down the hall. She assumed it was Jennifer's mother and sighed, bending down a little closer over her book. "Daphne?" She jerked her head up at the sound of her mother's voice.

Rayna looked like she'd been crying, her face puffy and her hair a mess. "Mom!" she cried and got up to run into her mother's arms.

Rayna held her tightly for a moment. "I'm so sorry, baby girl," she murmured quietly. Daphne looked up into her face and saw tears in her eyes. "Are you ready to go?"

Daphne nodded, then ran back to shove her history book in her book bag and zipped it up. Then she threw it over her shoulder and ran back to her mother. Rayna put her arm around her shoulder and they hurriedly walked out, without saying a word to Jennifer. Jennifer's mother was standing in the foyer and Rayna whispered a "thank you" without looking at her as she guided Daphne out of the house and into the car.

Daphne instinctively knew not to ask questions. She glanced over at her mother and saw how tense she looked as she gripped the steering wheel. When she looked back out the window, she realized they weren't driving towards home.

~nashville~

Daphne was sitting in Tandy's den, watching yet another movie. Almost all she'd done in the five days since her mom had dropped her off and vanished was watch movies.

She'd called Deacon and asked him to come get her, but he'd told her he couldn't. He'd sounded so sad. Then she'd spent some time on the internet, looking up all the stories about Maddie's emancipation and then she understood why Deacon was so sad.

She was getting angrier and angrier at Maddie. Her Aunt Tandy had seemed sad and disappointed about it all too. Daphne found herself hoping Maddie never came home.

Just then there was a knock on the door jamb and she turned to see Tandy standing there. Daphne paused the movie.

"Hey, sweetie," Tandy said, with a sad smile. "Your mom just called."

Daphne put down the remote and turned in the chair. "Is she coming to get me?"

Tandy shook her head. "No, but she wants me to take you back to Nashville."

"Is she going to meet us there?"

"No, she's got a little more to take care of before she can come home. But she'll meet us there in a couple days."

"Is Deacon going to be there?"

Tandy scowled. "No."

"Why not?"

Her aunt sighed. "That's something your mom probably needs to talk to you about."

Daphne felt annoyed with the lack of answers. "What about Maddie?"

Tandy breathed in. "She won't be there either." She walked over and sat on the arm of the chair and ran her hand through Daphne's hair. "Maddie's gone for now. I know your mom hopes she'll change her mind and come home, but for now, well, she's not."

"I read what she did."

Tandy's eyes widened. "You did?"

Daphne nodded. "I know she got emancipated. She thinks she's a grown up, but she's still a kid. She thinks because Mom did it, she can too."

Tandy frowned. "Your mom didn't ask to be emancipated."

Daphne made a face. "I meant that she wanted to be on her own, like Mom."

"Well, a lot of things were different when your mom was sixteen." Tandy sighed again. "I hope your sister figures that out soon."

Daphne frowned. "She's not my sister," she said. "I hate her. She was mean to me and to Mom and Deacon. She said terrible things about Deacon. I don't want her to come home."

"Oh, sweetie, don't say that."

Daphne scowled. "Don't tell me what to do. She wanted me to let her go, so that's exactly what I'm going to do." Then she got up and stormed out of the room.


A few minutes later, Tandy came into her room and sat on the edge of the bed. Daphne was sitting against the headboard with her arms crossed over her waist. Tandy put her hand on Daphne's arm. "Sweetie, I know this has been hard…."

Daphne shook her hand off. "How can you know? Mom leaves me here, Maddie doesn't want to be part of our family anymore, and I can't talk to Deacon. You have no idea how I feel."

Tandy smiled sympathetically. "You're right. Everything's kind of mixed up right now. But your mom will be back – soon – and we'll be there waiting for her."

Daphne pouted. "I hate this."

"I know, baby. I do too. But we're going back to Nashville tonight. At least you'll be home."

Daphne wanted to cry, but she didn't want to do it in front of her aunt. "Can I see Deacon when we get back?"

Tandy breathed in and shook her head. "Not right now. You'll have to talk to your mom about that."

Daphne sat up on the bed. "Why does everyone treat me like a baby? I know something's going on. Why can't you just tell me?"

Tandy looked at her niece carefully. "It's really not my place, sweetie. But I will say that there are some things that need to be worked out. Your mom loves you very much, though, and she's going to make sure it's all okay."

Daphne wasn't at all sure she believed that, but she decided to wait until she got back home to figure it out. As much as she didn't want to stay in California, she was nervous about going home. Nothing was right anymore. It had seemed, after the wedding, that things were finally good, but now they weren't. And she wondered if they ever would be again.

####

Daphne sat along the river bank, on the land that had belonged to her grandmother Virginia Wyatt. This was where her mom and Deacon were supposed to get married. It was supposed to be a happy day – and it was – even though they'd had to change locations and even though Maddie had been sulky. She hadn't realized then that it was the beginning of it all. Maybe she hadn't really realized that until now. But she leaned back on her elbows, tilting her face to the sun, her eyes closed, feeling the warmth.

The buzzing of her phone pierced the silence. She sat up and looked at it, then smiled. "Dad!" she said happily, as she answered.

"Hey, pumpkin, how are you?" Teddy's voice sounded relaxed, happy.

"Better, hearing from you," she responded. "How are you? How's California?" When Teddy had been released from prison, early for good behavior, he'd come to Nashville just long enough to tell her he couldn't come back for good. He'd wanted to start over, someplace else, and California seemed like a good place to do that. He'd moved to Southern California and lived in a quiet suburb of LA. She'd been sad to see him go so far away, but he'd been out of her life for so long, by that point, that it wasn't as painful as it could have been.

"Sunny. Warm. The way it is every day." He laughed. "You should come out sometime soon."

She nodded, smiling. "I will," she said. Then she was quiet, pensive, for a moment. "I miss you, Dad."

"I know. I miss you too." He paused. "I heard your sister was back in Nashville."

Daphne got that squeezed feeling in her stomach at the mention of Maddie. "She came by the house. Mom sent her away."

"You should see her, Daph."

"No, Dad," she said, angrily. "I hate her. She didn't want to be my sister, so now she's not."

"Daphne, don't do that. She is still your sister. And she's hurting. She knows she did wrong. You should listen to her, see what she says."

Daphne stood up, scowling out over the river. "No, Dad. I can't believe you'd even suggest it. You have no idea what she did. You weren't even here!"

Teddy sighed. "I do know what she did. Your mother came and told me. I even…I even talked to Deacon."

"What, now?"

"No. Back then. Look, I know you're angry. I understand that. All y'all have a right to be angry. What she did was terrible. But it's not unforgiveable."

Daphne was surprised he said that. "Yes, Dad, actually it is."

"Honey, she was a victim too."

"She knew better." Daphne was crying now. "She knew better and she kept hurting us." Her voice trailed off in sobs.

"Daphne, you forgave me."

She was still crying. "But you didn't tell us you didn't want to be our dad. You didn't deliberately hurt us."

"But you were hurt just the same." He breathed out. "Look, I'm just asking you to listen. Can't you just do that?"

Daphne suddenly felt like a lightbulb had gone on. "Wait. Did she come see you?"

"Actually she was staying with me for a few days. Right before she went to Nashville. Look, honey, she's in a really bad place. She needs all of y'all."

"So you're okay with what she did?" Daphne felt hurt then.

"No, sweetheart, I'm not saying that. I think she did the wrong thing back then, and I told her then I couldn't support it. But a lot's changed since then. And I just think we should all listen."

Daphne took a deep breath. "I don't know, Dad. I don't know if I can do it."

"Just try, baby. For me?"

"I don't know. I can't promise."

####

Daphne was sitting in the music room with her headphones on, listening to the tracks Deacon had brought home. He'd made several suggestions, when he'd heard the rough cuts, that he thought would improve the sound. He thought adding in a steel guitar would give the music a richer sound and, as usual, he was right. She smiled to herself as she listened, tapping her foot to the beat.

She looked up as the door opened and Deacon walked in. He gave her a small smile. She turned off the track and took off her headphones. "You didn't have to stop," he said.

She shook her head. "It's okay. It's only like the fourth time I've listened, I think." She smiled. "You were right about the steel guitar. It made all the difference."

He sat on the couch opposite from where she was sitting. "You think so?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

She nodded. "Absolutely." She breathed in. "You know, I really trust you about this stuff," she said. "I always have."

He smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."

She noticed he seemed on edge, a little twitchy almost. They hadn't talked about Maddie showing up, at least not the three of them together. She felt sure Deacon and her mom had talked about it, at least a little bit. But nearly a week had passed and they'd all avoided it and yet the tension in the house was palpable. She cleared her throat and he looked up at her. "Are you…are you going to see her?" she asked, her voice quiet. She knew he knew who she was talking about.

His expression was unreadable as he shook his head. "Nah."

He didn't say anything else, but she felt like his unspoken words hung heavy in the room. "Is Mom?"

She thought he looked like he wanted to cry. Or maybe he wanted to throw something. She couldn't tell for sure. So many emotions crossed over his face then. "She already did," he said, his voice flat.

She hadn't known that. But then she hadn't seen her mom much in the past week. She was either at her office or off by herself or alone with Deacon. "When?"

He shrugged. "You should talk to her about it, Daph."

She frowned then. "Why would she do that? Why would she hurt you like that?"

He raised his eyebrows. "She ain't doing it to hurt me. I think she just wants things to be taken care of." Daphne got up from where she was sitting and walked around to sit next to Deacon. She looked at him at first and then he put his arm around her and drew her into a hug. "She's protecting us."

She thought about that. As time had gone on, and she'd understood more of what had gone on back then, she'd first felt a deep hurt about how the sister she'd looked up to had turned away. Then it became anger at how she'd been so cruel and finally she'd pushed Maddie completely out of her mind, as though she'd never had a sister at all.

Along with that, she'd bonded more completely with Deacon. She'd grown up with Deacon in her life, as her mom's bandleader, and had adored him for as long as she could remember. When it turned out he was Maddie's father, it had seemed to change the dynamic, for her as well as for Maddie. She felt like she was on the outside looking in and, when her own father went to prison, she'd wondered where her place was. But Deacon hadn't let her pull away too far. As things had broken down in his relationship with Maddie, he'd seemed to need her more. And she needed him as well. Now she couldn't imagine her life without him and she considered him a father as much as her own was.

"I wish she hadn't come back," she whispered.

She could feel Deacon breathe in. "We'll get through it, sweet girl," he said, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "All of us."

####

Daphne was silent as she and her mom headed out of the drive. She didn't really want to do this, didn't want to see Maddie, but her mom said she thought it was a good idea. She'd been a little surprised that Maddie had gone to rehab, that she'd had a drug problem. It hadn't changed how she felt, but it had felt strange. As they turned onto Old Hickory Boulevard, she glanced over at Rayna. She looked tense still, Daphne thought. It had been a tense morning. Deacon had said little at breakfast, even though her mom had tried to engage him in conversation. He'd finally stood up and said he was going to the cabin, picking up his keys and heading out the door without a backward glance. Daphne had watched her mom stand there, long after he'd gone, looking lost and a little helpless.

She knew they'd had conversations about Maddie, maybe even arguments. She could tell, because Deacon would be withdrawn and her mom would be emotional. It had been a tough few weeks, ever since Maddie had come back to Nashville. She had asked for Daphne to come visit several times, but she had always refused. This time her mom had pushed her to go.

She turned and looked at Rayna again. She was focused on the road, her lips pressed tightly together. "I don't know why I have to go," she said, finally.

Rayna looked over at her but Daphne couldn't see what was in her eyes, behind the sunglasses. Then she looked back towards the road. "You need to do this, sweetie," she said. "Maddie needs to make amends."

"I'm not forgiving her," Daphne said angrily. "And I don't understand how you could."

Rayna sighed. "It's not that simple, Daphne. It's a process and I want to support your sister as she goes through it."

Daphne frowned. "She's not my sister! She's nobody to me!" she shouted.

"Please, baby, don't say that. She is your sister, even if you're angry with her. I understand what you're feeling. Believe me, I'm still angry too. And hurt. It was a really hard time, for all of us, but if she wants to make things right, I think we should at least try to hear her out."

Daphne scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll listen, but I'm not making any promises," she muttered.

Rayna reached over and patted her arm. "That's all we can do, baby," she said soothingly. "That's all we can do."


When they got to the rehab center, Daphne initially balked at getting out of the car. She wished she'd gone with Deacon to the cabin. She didn't want to see Maddie again, didn't want to listen to what she had to say. She still heard Maddie's voice in her head from five years ago. You're just a baby. A silly, goofball baby. I'm a grownup now and I can't be singing your stupid songs about clouds and sunshine and silly stuff. I need to sing grownup songs about love and angst and all the stuff you don't know about. I just can't do this anymore, with you. I need to move on. You need to let me go. She felt a lump in her throat even now. That had hurt her to her core, to have her sister turn away from her, especially when she was feeling so alone already.

Rayna had gotten out of the car and turned back to her. "Daphne? Come on, sweetheart," she said.

She shook her head. "No." She felt tears in her eyes and she hated that. "No, I'm not coming. I don't want to see her."

"Daphne, please," her mother said, pleading with her. "Just come in. If you don't want to stay you can come back outside, but please, just try."

She sat for a few more minutes and then finally she got out of the car and followed her mother inside.


Daphne didn't know what to expect when she walked in, so the pleasant surroundings were a bit of a surprise. She looked around her and then finally her eyes lit on Maddie, who was walking towards them with a huge smile on her face. For a moment, she was taken back to the days when they had been thick as thieves. Maddie looked so pretty, so different from the night she'd shown up on their doorstep. Thinking about that took her back to that night and all the nights that had preceded it and she felt the anger rise up in her throat.

"Hey, Mom," Maddie said. Daphne watched as Rayna hugged Maddie, a little awkwardly, then brushing her hair off her shoulder. Then she turned, her hand on Maddie's shoulder, as they faced her. Daphne had a hard time catching her breath. Maddie took a few steps towards her. "Hey, Daphne. I'm so glad you came," she said, her voice soft and welcoming and loving. The way it used to be. She reached her hand out, but Daphne took a step back. Maddie's face turned sad and her smile faded.

"Why don't we go sit down?" Rayna said then. "Just take a minute." She looked pleadingly at Daphne. She shrugged and followed them over to a seating area away from others who were there visiting. She felt a quiver run down her spine when Maddie sat next to her.

"I'm so glad you came, Daphne," she said. Daphne looked down at her lap. "I really wanted to see you. To tell you how sorry I am."

She looked up at her sister and scowled. "Sorry's not enough, Maddie," she said. "You said some horrible, mean things to me. And I didn't deserve that."

She could see tears in Maddie's eyes. "No, you didn't. And you're right. I said horrible things to you. Mean things. Hurtful things." She glanced over at their mother, then back at Daphne. "I was mixed up then. I thought I was all grown up and you were right, I wasn't. But I still thought I was. And I could tell you it was all Cash's fault, but it wasn't. It's all on me. I started it, by getting up on stage with Juliette and then pushing Mom and Dad away. And you."

She reached for Daphne's hand, but Daphne snatched it back. Maddie looked hurt, but kept going. "It was always supposed to be you and me, against the world. Remember that? I loved you so, so much, right from the beginning, as soon as you were born. But you know how my life got all mixed up and it was hard, even though I pretended it wasn't. When you find out your dad isn't who you thought, it makes you question everything. I tried to act like it was all okay, but I was so confused inside. And when I got to be on stage with Juliette, away from Mom and Dad, away from you, it just felt like where I was supposed to be."

Daphne looked up at her then and saw the anguish on her sister's face. "But why couldn't you have just said that?"

Maddie shrugged and shook her head. "I didn't know how. I felt like everyone in my life had made decisions for me and I wanted to make my own decisions, my own choices. Haven't you felt like that sometimes?"

Daphne thought about that. "Maybe." She glanced over at their mom, who looked a little sad. "But I didn't push anyone away. I knew Mom and Deacon wanted the best for me. They looked out for me," she said, defiantly.

Maddie nodded, with a tiny smile. "I know. They tried to do that for me too, but I was too angry to accept it. And I pushed everyone away. I listened to someone I shouldn't have and I did things I will forever be ashamed about because of that." She got a faraway look on her face. "You know, I've loved performing and being on stage and getting to experience all that. But it would have been better with you. I know that now. Nothing is as special as it is when you can do it with the people you love." She reached for Daphne's hand again and this time Daphne let her take it. "I miss you. You're one of the people I love the most and I miss you." She smiled sadly. "I've watched you, you know. You don't know it, but I watched you perform on the CMA's and I was so proud of you. You're so good and you're going to be so great." She brushed away her tears with her other hand. "I know sorry isn't enough to cover all the hurt, but I am sorry. So very sorry. And I want to earn your trust back. I want to be able to be your sister again."

Daphne took a deep breath. She felt as confused as Maddie said she'd been. She didn't want to just let Maddie off the hook, but she'd missed her too. She glanced at their mom, who was smiling encouragingly. She looked back at Maddie. "I can't promise anything, but we can try," she said.

Maddie half-laughed, half-cried. "That's all I can ask," she said. "I hope you'll come visit me again. I really want us to fix all of this. I want to make it right with you."

Daphne looked at her for a long moment, then, without thinking about what she was doing, reached out and hugged her sister. Maybe it was possible to fix this after all.

####

It had been three weeks since Daphne had gone to visit Maddie. She'd felt cautiously optimistic that they could repair the relationship, until she got home. She could see the pain and hurt in Deacon's eyes and on his face, and that tore her up inside. Deacon had been a rock for her, especially in the beginning when things were so mixed up, and the last thing she wanted to do was cause him pain. As she considered it all, she put all of the blame on Maddie. If Maddie hadn't gone through with her campaign to be emancipated and hadn't used Deacon's past against him to do it, they would still be a family. Her mom and Deacon wouldn't have gone through what they had. And the peace they'd finally found wouldn't be disrupted now.

She'd thought about it long and hard and finally decided she wanted to go see Maddie, by herself, to let her know just what heartache she'd caused. She didn't tell her mom what her plans were, just that she wanted to see Maddie alone. So she drove out on a beautiful Sunday morning, to meet Maddie at the chapel.

The church service was simple and Daphne found herself surprisingly moved. Maddie kept smiling at her and held her hand and that had felt comforting somehow, in a way that confused her. They had lunch afterwards and Daphne was surprised at all the people who came up to speak to her sister. It almost made her change her mind about telling Maddie how she felt, but she decided she needed to do it.

Maddie led them to a couch that was out of the way and, when they sat, she grabbed Daphne's hands and smiled at her. "I'm so glad you came," she said. "I've missed you so much."

Daphne looked at her for a moment and then frowned, pulling her hands away. "Why did you do it?" she asked. Maddie looked confused. "Why did you leave us?"

Maddie took a deep breath and looked way. "I told you," she said, looking back. "I thought I needed to make my own way." She sighed. "I just didn't do it the right way."

"Do you know how much you hurt us? All of us?"

Maddie nodded hesitantly. "I think so."

Daphne shook her head and frowned. "Actually, I don't think you do. I think you know how much you hurt Deacon, because he won't come see you or talk to you." Maddie looked down at her hands in her lap. "You know, he hasn't even said your name in five years. At least not while I've been around. But I bet he hasn't, even to Mom. I didn't know, at first, all the things you said about him. Or that you had your lawyer ask him. I know he didn't come home that night. And he and Mom almost broke up over all of that. It took him a long time to be happy again and that was because of you, Maddie."

Maddie looked at her then, tears in her eyes. "I didn't want to do that. But I wanted my freedom and I let myself get talked into doing that. I can't begin to tell you how much I wish…."

Daphne waved her hand in front of Maddie's face. "You wish you could make it up to him? Good luck. He was a good dad to you. He's been a good dad to me. I love him and I won't let you hurt him like that again. And Mom. She cried for weeks. She thought I didn't know, but I did. I'd hear her sometimes and I'd see in her eyes that she'd been crying. They felt like they had failed you, Maddie, when you were the one who failed them."

Maddie was crying now. "I know that, Daphne. That's what I've learned about myself since I've been here. And I want to make it right. With all of you."

Daphne shrugged. "You might be able to get Mom back, but Deacon and me? I don't know. It won't be easy. I still remember all the hateful things you said to me then. That I was too childish. And too young to know anything. How you pushed me away. How you walked away and told me to let you go."

"I didn't mean those things, Daphne! I was just so frustrated…."

Daphne felt tears in her own eyes then. "I don't care, Maddie. I looked up to you. I wanted to be like you. You were so pretty and so talented. You and Deacon wrote songs together. I thought you were so lucky." She wiped at her eyes. "And after Dad went to prison, I needed you. But you were too busy trying to get away, to be like Cash. You didn't have time for me and you pushed me away."

Maddie tried to grab her hands, but she pulled them away. "I'm so sorry, Daphne," Maddie cried. "I want to make it up to you. You're my sister and I love you so much."

"I don't feel very loved, Maddie. I didn't feel very loved." She took a deep breath. "You know, everything was good until you came back. And now it's not. Mom is trying so hard to be a good mom, but she's pulled in two directions. And she's so stressed. And Deacon, well, poor Deacon doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to be mad at Mom or hurt because she wants to help you, but all he can see is the daughter who betrayed him. It's been five years. That's a long time. We learned how to be a family without you. We stopped being sad and hurt and angry all the time. We were happy as a family, Maddie, and now we're all torn up again. Because of you. Again. Why did you have to do that?" She stood up then, looking down at her sister, tears streaming down her face. "I wish you'd never come back." She turned and ran out of the building, all the way to her car, and then she sat and sobbed.


When she walked into the house, she saw her mom and Deacon standing at the kitchen counter, their heads together, smiling and laughing over something. They both looked up when she closed the door. Deacon frowned a little. "Hey, sweet girl, you okay?" he asked.

"Daphne?" her mom said, a worried look crossing her face. She looked at both of them for a moment, wishing none of this had ever happened, that Maddie had not turned their worlds upside down, that they could go back to being the family they'd been for the past five years. But everything had changed and she wasn't sure what was next. She felt like crying, but not in front of them, so she ran past them towards the stairs. "Daphne!" her mom called after her, but she didn't stop, not until she got to her room and threw herself down on her bed.

She heard her mom's footsteps approaching her room. "Sweetheart?" she called softly from the door. Daphne turned over to face the door. "Can I come in?" Her mom's face looked so sad, it almost made her cry again. She nodded and Rayna walked over and sat on the bed beside her. She reached out and smoothed Daphne's hair back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Daphne sighed. "I don't know."

Rayna bit down on her lip. "I know all this is hard and confusing. It is for all of us. And it's okay if you're having trouble with it."

Daphne pushed herself up to a sitting position, leaning against her headboard. "Is it? Because I feel like you've gotten over it, almost like it never happened."

Rayna shook her head, furrowing her brow. "That's not true." She reached for Daphne's hand. "I still hurt. Especially for you and for Deacon." She looked away. "I have a lot of conflicting feelings." She looked back at her daughter. "A lot. But I believe Maddie wants to try. And I'm willing to see how it goes."

Daphne screwed up her face. "But I don't understand, Mom. All the awful things she said and did. How can you forget that?"

"I haven't forgotten that. And I won't forget that. But it's been five years. And a lot can happen in five years. People can change, can see their mistakes, can ask for forgiveness. We don't have to give it to them, that's true. We can hold on to all that anger and hurt and pain and I'm not saying that's always wrong. It's taking Deacon a longer time to get over this. And that's because he feels everything so deeply and because he was so hurt. I think he'll forgive her though. It's not really in his heart to hold onto that." She smiled a little and took Daphne's hand. "And I don't think it's in your heart to do that either. But I understand that you both need a little more time."

Daphne held her mom's hand tightly. "Do you think we'll ever forget?"

Rayna screwed her face up for a minute, then shook her head. "Probably not. It's not like it goes away. But we can move past it. Find a way to move forward." She smiled sadly. "You know, Deacon and I hurt each other a lot when we were younger, before Maddie. And all the stuff around that, well, it took us a while to be able to work through all that. So I think he'll get there with Maddie. And I think you can too. Just remember, she came back, knowing we'd all be angry, knowing it would be hard, because she wanted to try to fix things."

Daphne shrugged and sighed. "I guess." She let go of Rayna's hand and drew her knees up to her chest, resting her chin there. "I made her cry today. I told her how mad I was at her and how awful she'd been and I made her cry." She rubbed at her eyes. "It made me feel good for a minute, but then it hurt so bad to see her cry and I just had to leave."

"Maybe one day you can tell her that. That it hurt you to make her cry. Maybe that will help."

Daphne sat silently for a moment, then moved to her knees and hugged her mom. Rayna hugged her back. "Maybe it will," she whispered.

####

Daphne wondered what Maddie would be like, now that she'd finished ninety days of rehab. In many ways she'd seemed like the old Maddie, when she'd visited, but Daphne wondered if that was real. After all, she'd been gone for a long time and she'd had a different life than the one she'd left behind. She'd been on her own, which was what she'd wanted, performing and writing music. Daphne wondered if she'd really be able to settle back into their family, be a part of that.

She and her mom waited in the lobby. She watched her mom fidget with her hands and run her tongue over her lips. Maddie wasn't going to come back to their house – Deacon still wasn't ready for that – but it had seemed important that they pick her up. After a few minutes, Maddie rounded the corner, pulling a rolling bag behind her. Daphne looked up at her mom and saw a smile cross her face.

Maddie looked good. She was smiling as she approached them and when she stood in front of them, Daphne saw she had tears in her eyes. "Hey, Mom," she said softly and hugged Rayna. Rayna held tightly to her daughter, rubbing her back, before letting her go. "Thanks for coming," Maddie said.

"You look really good, Maddie," Rayna responded.

Maddie nodded. "I feel really good." Then she turned to Daphne. She hesitated, biting her lip.

"I'm sorry, Maddie," Daphne said. "I'm sorry about what I said." She felt a lump in her throat.

Maddie shook her head. "It's okay. You're here now," she said quietly. Then she leaned in and hugged her sister. "I'm so glad you came," she whispered in Daphne's ear.

When they got in the car, Daphne sat up front and Maddie got in the back seat. At first they were all quiet, although Daphne could see her mom look in the rear view mirror, as though she was making sure Maddie really was there. Daphne thought about the fact that, when they were growing up, there were never these awkward silences, as though they were all strangers. Rayna had always made sure to stay close to them and even that felt strained.

The silence stretched out and Daphne wondered if anyone would ever say anything at all. When Maddie started to sing, it was, at first, very quiet, barely registering over the car noise. I'm gonna need an anchor / Someone to call me home / Gonna need somebody / To leave the porchlight on / If I ever get lost out there on my own / Gonna need an anchor / Someone to call me home.

Daphne recognized it as the song she and Maddie had sung at the FosterMore benefit show that their mom had organized, at the Ryman. The last time they'd sung together. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and then she found herself joining in. If all our dreams are just wishes / If every wish needs a star / If all an ending really needs is a brand new beginning / All love needs is a willing heart / All love needs is a willing heart.

Daphne picked up the next verse. I'm gonna open up my own wings / The ones you helped me make / The ones that you promised no one could ever take away / I made them out of your love / They're the kind that never breaks / I'm gonna open up my own wings / The ones you helped me make. Her voice trailed off at the last words, thinking about how she'd felt when Maddie had left their lives, how lonely she'd felt, and lost. She still remembered Maddie's last words to her. I'm not emancipating from you. We're still sisters. But you have to let me go. The pain of that had ached for a long time.

And if all our dreams are just wishes / If every wish needs a star / If all an ending really needs is a brand new beginning / All love needs is a willing heart / All love needs is a willing heart. Maddie's voice was strong and true as her eyes locked on Daphne's. Daphne could see her tears and gave her a tiny encouraging smile. Then she reached over the seat for Maddie's hand and her sister grabbed it.

Gonna need an anchor / I'm gonna need wings / I'm gonna need a willing heart / To chase down all these dreams / Gonna need understanding / When it's hard to understand / But I'm gonna need your love / No matter where I am.

When they finished, they sat looking at each other. Then Maddie squeezed Daphne's hand. "I've missed you so much," she said. "I've missed doing this. I would dream about it sometimes, over all these five years, but especially while I was at Riverside. It was always the best time of my life."

Daphne felt the tears roll down her face. "Mine too." She breathed in deeply. "I'm glad you came home."

####

Daphne walked into the restaurant and saw that Maddie was already there. She smiled and waved as she weaved through the tables to the little two top where her sister was. "Hey," she said, as she leaned in to give Maddie a hug, then sat down across from her.

Maddie grinned. "Thanks for meeting me," she said. "It's been a while since we've gotten together and I wanted to hear how your tour was going."

Daphne picked up her menu and glanced over it, not looking at Maddie. "It's good," she said. It felt a little awkward, talking to her sister about her career. It made her think about the fact that it was something the two of them were supposed to do together. She'd been so excited when their mom had told them she wanted to sign the two of them to Highway 65. But Maddie had ruined all that when she'd run off and then won her emancipation. Even though she and Maddie were repairing their relationship, that still hurt.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay," Maddie said softly.

Daphne looked up and saw the sadness in Maddie's eyes, the acknowledgement that she knew what could have been. She felt like she had a knot in her stomach. She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry," she said. "I do want to tell you."

Just then the server came up and, after they gave their orders, Maddie took a sip of her water. "So how is being on the road with Cole Swindell?" she asked.

Daphne smiled this time. "It's good. I feel like I'm really an artist now."

"You mean, since you're not doing it with Mom and Dad?" Maddie smiled shyly.

"Yeah. I mean, they were great. Are great. But now I feel grown up. Finally." She took a deep breath, thinking about how that sounded. Maddie thought she was grown up at sixteen, but Daphne certainly hadn't thought so. She gave her sister a serious look. "So, was it all what you thought it would be? When you went out on your own?"

Maddie looked a little surprised at the question, at first, and hesitated a moment before she answered, as though she were thinking of the right words. Finally she looked at Daphne sadly. "No," she said. "It really wasn't."

Daphne was a little surprised at that. "How come?"

Maddie sighed. "Well, it just didn't go the way I thought it would. I guess I thought I'd be a star. That if I could just get out from underneath Mom's control, everything would be like I'd dreamed it would be. I wanted to be like Juliette. I thought I was so smart and could handle anything that came along, but I really wasn't. I mean, Juliette had Glenn to help her and I know now that he really helped her a lot. And I knew Mom had started out when she was sixteen, but then she had Dad. And Watty. So she wasn't really alone, making decisions by herself."

Daphne frowned. "You had somebody."

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Well, not somebody who was looking out for me. She was using me for her own purposes. She didn't really care about my well-being. Not like Glenn cared about Juliette. Or Watty cared about Mom." She rubbed at her eye. "Nothing really went like I thought it would. I never charted a record. I never really got on a big tour. I had to deal with all the gross people that were out there, all on my own. Cash was never going to protect me. And then Sony dumped me. I'd gone through all of that for nothing."

"Why didn't you come home then?"

Maddie shook her head. "I didn't think I could. I had hurt y'all so bad and I thought Mom and Dad wouldn't let me come home. I mean, I had emancipated myself from Mom. She didn't owe me anything. And I said horrible things, Daph, you know that. I made them feel so bad. And you."

Daphne swallowed hard. "You should have come home, Maddie. We missed you."

Tears filled Maddie's eyes and she tried to laugh them away. "I couldn't, though," she said, her voice cracking with her emotions. "I was so embarrassed."

"But you came home now."

"Well, I didn't have a lot of choice, really. I had no money, nowhere to stay. I'd overdosed on pills and I was in bad shape. I think I'm probably the poster child for 'be careful what you wish for'. It was a struggle, every day. I never really had a place to call home, never knew if I'd have enough money to eat. I didn't want anyone to help me, because, after a while, I felt like it was kind of my penance, you know?"

"But you had Glenn," Daphne said.

"I did. And he helped a lot. Kept me afloat. But I was not reliable, always. I was a risk. And Cash spread a lot of bad stuff around about me after I dumped her. So it was hard. Maybe one day I'll tell you the whole story." She smiled weakly. "At the end, I sort of got overpowered. By Glenn and Juliette and our dad." She reached across the table for Daphne's hand. "You did it right, Daphne. You let Mom and Dad help you and you're going to be so successful, I just know it." She smiled. "I'm so happy for you."

Just then their food came and they focused on that, instead of the painful remembrance of what had once been.

####

Daphne met Maddie at the small studio apartment Maddie had started renting in East Nashville just after New Year's. "So here's the kitchen and the living room and the bedroom and the bathroom," Maddie said, as she turned in a slow circle. Then she laughed. "It's the first place I could call my own, since a year after I left Nashville." As soon as she said it, she her smile faded and she breathed in slowly. "It actually feels really good to have a place of my own," she said softly.

Maddie had been back almost a year. They still had their ups and downs. It wasn't easy mending the relationship, forgiving what she'd thought was unforgivable. Even on the good days, the pain was still there, lurking beneath the surface, ready to spring up angrily and furiously, after a thoughtless word or a remembered hurt. But this day was a good day.

Daphne reached out and squeezed Maddie's hand. "I really thought you must have had everything you ever thought you wanted," she said.

"Actually Mom and Dad were right and I didn't know much of anything when I was sixteen," Maddie said. She looked over at Daphne and gave her a sad smile. "Or seventeen." She took a deep breath. "I'm glad you let them help you." She walked over to the loveseat and sat, Daphne following behind.

Daphne ran her tongue over her lips. "Did you blame me?" she asked. "When Deacon found you that night at the bar?"

Maddie looked confused. "Why would I blame you?" she asked.

Daphne looked down. "Because I told him where you were."

"What? How did you even know that?"

"Because I heard you and Cash planning it. And I was so mad, because you were ignoring me and treating me like a baby. And then you lied to Deacon."

Maddie looked away. "I never knew that," she said quietly. She took a deep breath, then looked back at her sister. "There was a part of me that was glad he came, because it was a little scary. Not the performing part, because I wanted to do it. But the guys were older and this guy groped me, right there on stage. If Dad hadn't stopped him, I don't know what would have happened."

Daphne frowned. "Then why did you run away?"

"Because I was stupid. I thought he and Mom were holding me back and that he was a crazy person." She got a little teary. "He was just protecting me. Like a good dad would. Like our dad always did."

Daphne looked at her. "You hurt him really bad, Maddie. It was like you told him he didn't exist for you."

Maddie nodded sadly. "I know. I can't even explain it. I think it was like I didn't know him like I thought I did. And instead of trying to understand, I just turned away. Which was terrible. And then Cash told me all these awful stories about how her dad was and how much it had screwed up her life. And how my dad was going to do the same thing. Then she told me all these things her dad had told her. It was awful."

Daphne looked at her sister thoughtfully. "Will you tell me the whole story now?" she asked.

Maddie took a deep breath. "It's not a pretty story," she said.

Daphne shrugged. "It's okay. I can handle it."

"Well, I'll start by saying there was a lot of stuff that was confusing in my life. It really started as far back as when I found out our dad wasn't my dad. When Deacon and I started to get to know each other, that way, it was mostly good. And mostly because I didn't live with him. I mean, I could go to his house for guitar lessons and it was always good. No real pressure, no real rules. I felt like he got me, you know?" Daphne nodded. "And I really wanted him and Mom to be together." She looked at her sister sadly. "I know that was hard for you, and I'm sorry."

Daphne shook her head. "It's okay. I love Deacon and it's okay."

Maddie smiled. "But when he moved in with us, things were different, and I saw a side of him I didn't know and I didn't understand. I get it now – he wears his heart on his sleeve and he feels everything really intensely – but back then, he just wasn't the Deacon I thought I knew and I had a hard time processing that. And then I got a chance to be on stage with Juliette and I really knew then that I wanted to be an artist."

"Which is when Mom signed us to Highway 65."

Maddie tilted her head to one side. "But it was more than that. Sony wanted to sign me then and Mom said no. Edgehill had actually signed me when I was fifteen and Mom bullied them into tearing up the contract. It felt like she was trying to hold me back, like she didn't believe in me, didn't want it for me. The Highway 65 thing felt like a consolation prize. Like she was only doing it because she had to give me something."

Daphne looked away. She remembered how excited she'd been about the Highway 65 deal and how dismissive Maddie had been. It still hurt. Maybe it would always hurt, that her sister had rejected her that way.

Maddie bit down on her lower lip. "I really am sorry about all the things I said then. I was a stupid sixteen year old, for one thing, but, you know, I met Cash then. And she seemed so smart and sophisticated and she was so sure of herself. She encouraged me and made me feel like I had something special to offer." She sighed. "I know Mom and Dad did the same thing, but, you know, they were my parents. It wasn't really the same at all. At least the way I saw it. Plus I could talk to Cash about things I couldn't talk to them about. Grown up things that I couldn't tell them. She listened and she understood. What I didn't know was that she was using all that to pull me away from them. She was the one who encouraged me to emancipate from Mom. She was the one who wanted me to talk about how violent and insane Deacon was. She wanted to pull me away from everything I knew."

"Why did she do that?"

Maddie shook her head. "I don't know if I understand all of it. Some of it was her relationship with her dad. It was complicated and maybe even a little twisted, I don't know. But he was pretty crazy, apparently, when he was younger. When he was drinking. I think she made a link between an alcoholic and being crazy and violent. And convinced me Dad was the same. And she played on that feeling I had that Mom was trying to control me and keep me from doing what I loved. Because that's what she felt like her mom was doing, trying to keep her close to protect her from her dad. But the more I was around her, the more I realized there was something not really right about her. Every time I wanted to do something of my own, she would undermine me. Not overtly, but kind of like 'are you sure you want to do that?' or 'I don't know if that's going to be the right sound for you', things that would make me question myself."

Maddie reached out for Daphne's hands. "At first, things were great. I was free. I had this great contract with Sony and a big advance. We went to New York and LA and I thought it was all going to be my dream come true." She sighed.

"But it wasn't?" Daphne asked.

Maddie shook her head. "No. I couldn't write anything without Cash being involved. At first that was okay, but she never let me write on my own. She picked out the songs for my album. She set up all these meetings with radio and press and label people and told me I had to sleep with them to get my songs on the radio." Daphne gasped. "She told me everyone did it, that Mom even did it, which I don't think was actually true." She got teary then and reached for Daphne's hands. "Please don't tell Mom and Dad. I don't want them to ever know that. I think Mom was worried about that for me. And Dad too. I just don't want them to know." Daphne took a deep breath, but she nodded, and Maddie seemed to relax a little. "It was awful and I felt so used, but I didn't know any better. At first, anyway." She shrugged. "It didn't matter in the end. My album never charted, so my songs didn't get played anyway. I did all that for nothing. I was so miserable and I cried all the time. That's when Cash started giving me pills. They helped me feel better and made things tolerable." She dropped her head. "At some point, I must have taken enough to make me stop feeling anything at all. And that's when things kind of went off the rails."

Daphne reached in and hugged Maddie. "I'm so sorry," she said.

Maddie shook her head. "You know, I think I deserved it. After my second album was a stiff, Sony dropped me, and then Cash kind of went ballistic. That's when I finally got the courage to walk away. I probably spent a year living in shelters and playing gigs around LA. I finally called Juliette and that's when she sent Glenn to help me." She made a face and wiped the tears away. "Not that it helped a lot. I had burned a lot of bridges, thanks to Cash and to my own stupidity. He did all he could to at least keep me afloat. Until that night when I kind of hit rock bottom. I was opening for a local band, but I couldn't keep it together. I overdosed and that's when I ended up coming back here. I had nowhere else to go."

Maddie wrapped her arms around her waist. "I don't think I would have done any of the things I did if it hadn't been for Cash, but I have to take responsibility for my own choices. She lied to me about a lot of things and I believed her, because I wanted to. I'm just so sorry that all of you ended up hurt in the process."

Daphne moved over to put her arms around her sister. She found herself being grateful Maddie had been able to find her way out of the nightmare her life had become.

####

When Daphne walked onto the stage at the Bluebird, the first person she looked for was Maddie. Her sister was sitting at a table just off to the right of the stage. Maddie had beamed at her as she'd launched into her set, clapping enthusiastically at the end of each song. When she got to the final song of her set, she'd paused for a moment and looked out at Maddie. "I have one more song to do and I'd like to do something that's really special to me," she said. "It's a little old now, but it's the first song I ever sang on a real stage in a real arena." She smiled for a moment. "I was nine then and for as long as I could remember I'd always wanted to perform, which I guess makes sense when your mom is Rayna Jaymes." There was soft laughter from the crowd and she grinned. "Anyway, my sister and I had practiced this song at home, but we didn't know our mom was going to let us do it for sound check that night, until she sent us up on stage. It was probably the most exciting thing I'd ever done. It's a song called 'Ho Hey'."

She started the opening melody line and then she stopped. "You know what would make this even better? If my sister Maddie would come up here and sing it with me. Just like old times." She smiled at Maddie, who had looked surprised and then tearful. She nodded and gestured to Maddie to come up. When Maddie got on the stage, one of the band members pulled a chair out for her and she sat next to Daphne, smiling. Then Daphne pulled the guitar strap over her head and handed her guitar to her sister. "You're still a much better guitar player than I am, so will you do the honors?"

Maddie grinned. "I would love to," she whispered. She started the same melody line and then, when Daphne nodded at her, she started to sing. I been trying to do it right / I been living a lonely life / I been sleepin' here instead / I been sleepin' in my bed / Sleepin' in my bed….

When the song was over, the crowd cheered enthusiastically. Maddie looked at her sister with tears in her eyes, and then reached in to hug her. "I've missed singing with you," Daphne whispered in her ear.

When Maddie pulled back, she smiled. "Me too."

A/N: I used the song 'Willing Heart' and did my best on the lyrics. At the time I wrote this, there weren't any that I could find and I tried to decipher them from the song. Unfortunately, Lennon tends to sometimes slur words when she sings, which makes them hard to figure out, but, even if I'm wrong, I think what I came up with makes sense.